8.02.2014

This brother came across my FaceBook page, Henry T. Sampson, and was touted as the inventor of the Cell Phone. Now I had heard quite some time ago that a Black man was responsible for the invention of the cell phone, so I was glad that the info was being made available to us. As I was reading, however, it mentioned that he had also authored some books. So, being the history buff that I am, I asked on FaceBook whether anyone was aware of, or had read any of his books. Not getting an answer, I decided that if I wanted to know what these books were, it was up to me to look them up. So I did.

Not only is Mr. Sampson a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, he is well versed in the history of Black producers, writers, and actors/actresses during the era when we were writing, producing, acting/starring in our own movies for us, by us, about us.

So I'm listing them here in case any of you might be interested in reading the work of this brilliant brother. But to set the record straight, inventor Henry Sampson is a brilliant and accomplished nuclear physicist who invented a Gamma-Electrical Cell.
This led to the development of what we know today as the cell phone. If you want more detailed information as to how that came about, you can easily access it via the internet. In addition to his singular accomplishment in this arena, he is the first Black man to receive a PhD in Nuclear science. Henry Sampson also received patents for a "binder system for
propellants and explosives" and a "case bonding system for cast
composite propellants." Both inventions are related to solid rocket
motors.

In other words - this FINE BLACK MAN is BRILLIANT! At the age of 80, he's still contributing mightily to our lives. It's time that we began to appreciate him for all that he's done. We should each get a copy of at least one of his books - or all of them - read them, and acquaint ourselves with his work.

Three of the five books are listed below:

Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films

Since
its publication in 1977 to acclaim as a pioneering work, this has
remained the first and only book to detail all aspects of a unique era
in the history of motion pictures the only time in the U.S. when films
featuring an all-Black cast, produced and directed by Blacks, were shown
primarily to Black audiences, in theatres many of which were owned and
managed by Blacks. Sampson traces the history of the Black film industry
from its beginnings around 1910 to its demise in 1950, chronicling the
activities of pioneer Black filmmakers and performers who have been
virtually ignored by film historians. Significantly more information on
Oscar Micheaux and other Black producers of the period and descriptions
of many more Black films are included in the second edition. A new
chapter discusses the first black images in American film as portrayed
by Whites in blackface. The list of film titles from both the sound and
the silent periods, including members of the cast, has been greatly
expanded. With an extensive list of Black musical "soundies;" full
index; and many new and rare photographs.

Scarecrow
Press has long been one of the researcher and cinephile's best friends.
A scan of their Filmmakers Series, for example, includes such enticing
obscurities as The Memoirs of Alice Guy Blache, studies of
underrated directors like Robert Florey and Thorold Dickinson, even an
oral autobiography of Mae Clarke. Henry Sampson's book on black imagery
in commercial cartoons is aimed at researchers but has some appeal to
the average film fan willing to plough through the long plot renditions.
This is a big book (about 8-1/2 x 11) that includes, besides the plots,
limited technical information (company, genre, and characters),
fascinating interpolated biographies and historical data, and, where
available, contextualizing quotes from both contemporary and recent
reviews.

Sampson begins with a historical overview
that links animated cartoons to their newspaper origins and situates the
black-themed cartoon in the context of the approximately 7,000 cartoons
copyrighted in the U.S. between 1900 and 1960. He divides his
information into four major themes: the rare black "stars" of the genre
like Bosko, Li'l Eightball, Mandy, and Buzzy the Crow; animated safaris;
plantation themes; and the animated minstrel show. The "stars" were
actually mostly support — Mandy, for example, was Little Lulu's maid and
never had a cartoon of her own. Some of the reviews Sampson quotes are
simple endorsements of the commercial potential of these 'toons. Others
carry the still disturbingly racist tone of their time. In a 1917 review
of Pat Sullivan's Sammy Johnsin in Mexico, the London Bioscope
says: "Sammy Johnsin, that delightful nigger mite … sets forth to
capture a Mexican bandit…. a sadder and wiser nigger wanders into the
unknown. Delightful." Indeed. Things weren't much better by 1943, when a
trade magazine called Bob Clampett's notorious Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves "a jig jamboree of joyous quality." Author Sampson provides some solid balancing opinion with more recent reviews and analysis.

The author wisely leavens the text with a
substantial insert of visual material — ad slicks, frame enlargements,
poster art, and provocative images like a photo of "George Pal with his
cartoon creation Jasper, circa 1942." This seemingly simple picture
speaks volumes about the distortions of black identity perpetrated by
smiling white men throughout cinema history.

Included are some rather amazing bar charts
illustrating useful data like the number of cartoons with black
characters as percentages of both total film production and total
cartoon production, and the number of times famous black entertainers
were caricatured in cartoons. The winner: Cab Calloway at an astonishing
26 times (Lincoln University Alumnus Cab Calloway did the music behind most of the Betty Boop Cartoons, along with Louis Jordan and other Black musicians).

Henry T. Sampson (Author): Is the author of several books on
African-American culture, including Blacks in Black and White: A Source
Book on Black Films, Second Edition (1995), That's Enough Folks: Black
Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960 (1998), and Sw...
More about Henry T. Sampson

Blacks in Blackface

A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows

borrow
from a library
orbuy
online. Published in 1980, Blacks in Blackface was the first and most
extensive book up to that time to deal exclusively with every aspect of
all-African American musical comedies performed on the stage between
1900 and 1940. An invaluable resource for scholars and historians
focused on African American culture, this new edition features
significantly revised, expanded, and new material.

In Blacks in
Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows, Henry T. Sampson
provides an unprecedented wealth of information on legitimate musical
comedies, including show synopses, casts, songs, and production credits.
Sampson also recounts the struggles of African American performers and
producers to overcome the racial prejudice of white show owners, music
publishers, theatre managers, and booking agents to achieve adequate
financial compensation for their talents and managerial expertise. Black
producers and artists competed with white managers who were producing
all-Black shows and also with some white entertainers who were
performing Black-developed music and dances, often in blackface.The chapters in this volume include:

An overview of African American musical shows from the end of the Civil War through the golden years of the 1920s and '30s

New and expanded biographical sketches of performers

Detailed information about the first producers and owners of Black minstrel and musical comedy shows

Origins and backgrounds of several famous Black theatres

Profiles
of African American entrepreneurs and businessmen who provided
financial resources to build and own many of the Black theatres where
these shows were performed

Critical commentary from African American newspapers and show business publications

More than 500 hundred rare photographsA
comprehensive volume that covers all aspects of Black musical shows
performed in theatres, nightclubs, circuses, and medicine shows, this
edition of Blacks in Blackface can be used as a reference for serious
scholars and researchers of Black show business in the United States
before 1940. More than double the size of the previous edition, this
useful resource will also appeal to the casual reader who is interested
in learning more about early Black entertainment.

Now that you know, you can share it with you children, your neighbors, friends - more information on Black people more knowledge on our accomplishments.